TY - JOUR
T1 - The influence of spatial scale and habitat arrangement on diel patterns of habitat use by two lowland river fishes
AU - Crook, David
AU - Robertson, Alistar
AU - King, Alison
AU - Humphries, Paul
N1 - Imported on 12 Apr 2017 - DigiTool details were: Journal title (773t) = Oecologia. ISSNs: 0029-8549;
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - There is growing awareness that patterns of habitat use by animals cannot be isolated from issues of scale. Recently, techniques have been devised which allow empirical testing of hypotheses related to the effects of spatial scale on habitat use. We used spatially explicit statistical procedures to examine the roles of scale and habitat arrangement in determining fish distribution patterns in a reach of an Australian lowland river. Native golden perch and introduced common carp were tracked day and night using radiotelemetry over a 10 day period and their distributions compared with mapped habitat variables. Golden perch were significantly associated with depth, current velocity, substratum and cover at larger scales of analysis both day and night, and at smaller scales during the day. At night, however, associations between golden perch and habitat variables were generally much weaker at small scales. Common carp were generally not significantly associated with habitat variables at larger scales of analysis, whereas at smaller scales they were associated with depth, current velocity, substrate and cover. Associations were generally stronger during the day than at night. Our study emphasises the need to consider scale-dependence in studies of fish-habitat associations. Management and restoration of fish habitat in lowland rivers should be based on an understanding of habitat use at scales relevant for the fish rather than at scales arbitrarily defined by humans.
AB - There is growing awareness that patterns of habitat use by animals cannot be isolated from issues of scale. Recently, techniques have been devised which allow empirical testing of hypotheses related to the effects of spatial scale on habitat use. We used spatially explicit statistical procedures to examine the roles of scale and habitat arrangement in determining fish distribution patterns in a reach of an Australian lowland river. Native golden perch and introduced common carp were tracked day and night using radiotelemetry over a 10 day period and their distributions compared with mapped habitat variables. Golden perch were significantly associated with depth, current velocity, substratum and cover at larger scales of analysis both day and night, and at smaller scales during the day. At night, however, associations between golden perch and habitat variables were generally much weaker at small scales. Common carp were generally not significantly associated with habitat variables at larger scales of analysis, whereas at smaller scales they were associated with depth, current velocity, substrate and cover. Associations were generally stronger during the day than at night. Our study emphasises the need to consider scale-dependence in studies of fish-habitat associations. Management and restoration of fish habitat in lowland rivers should be based on an understanding of habitat use at scales relevant for the fish rather than at scales arbitrarily defined by humans.
U2 - 10.1007/s004420100750
DO - 10.1007/s004420100750
M3 - Article
SN - 0029-8549
VL - 129
SP - 525
EP - 533
JO - Oecologia
JF - Oecologia
IS - 4
ER -